Deer Vet
> Worms & Parasites
Worms
and Parasites Q&A |
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See also
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Lungworm Factsheet |
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Ostertagia Factsheet |
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Parasites: Parelaphostrongylosis tenuis Factsheet |
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Parasites: Elaphostrongylosis cervi Factsheet |
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Deer
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Australia
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1 |
I came across your site while searching for answers and became very |
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interested in reading how people are deer farming these days. We had over 650 fallow deer in 1995. When we rounded our deer up, we had chutes and crushes and never tranquilized them. We have tranquilized some in the past but usually things did not turn out well. I would recommend to those who are deer farming out there to get knowledgeable people to help you set up your facilities so you do not need to tranquilize your deer and you can round your deer up stressfree.
Anyway, I slowly sold the herd off with the exception of 3 pets. My buck was born in 1994. This year he grew only a very long spike and a small web horn which is very small for him. He has had the runs for some time, so I called local vet to see what I could use to de worm him. We no longer have round up facilities and I wanted to know what type of dewormer I could use to feed him. He recommended Panacure but I could not locate that. His second choice was Safeguard. I gave the buck some and he seemed to do better for a little bit but now he has crap running out of him.
The vet and my husband keep telling me he is just old and probably has cancer, however he did better with the Safegaurd. I am thinking he still has parasites. Is there a good dewormer that I can feed to him?
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Adult deer are not usually too bothered by intestinal worms, and if there are a few worms you might get a reponse but I doubt that it is the reason for the scouring.
As it happens I agree with your husband and the vet – it could well be a cancer ina buck that age.
Your comments about tranquilliser rifles are quite correct – often useful but not a substitute for good handling facilities.
(20 February 2011) |
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2
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We have cattle as well as deer [on our Queensland farm]. This time of year when the buffalo fly are present a small percentage of cattle contract "Three day sickness".
Is it possible for Red deer to also contract the sickness? |
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No!
(1 December 2010) |
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3
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Can you tell me what kind of worms a deer will get and if they can get the haemonchus
contortus, better known as the barber pole worm? Also what
kind of wormer would kill the worms? |
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Deer generally have their own collection of worms, although they are very
similar to those found in livestock. Barber's Pole worm has been reported in
deer, but there is not a lot of information on just how much damage it does.
Any of the avermectin anthelmintics work fine, and the pour-ons are easy to use,
if you do really need to treat a deer. |
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4
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We have Rusa Deer and they appear to have a fly (like the one that hang
around cattle) -small and stacks of them. We have been agisting out
part of our farm to cattle. Is there a spray or something to put on
them? |
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Flies tend to be seasonal in their activities, and unless they are really
bothering the deer I would not suggest using insecticides etc. - there are
already enough chemicals in the environment. |
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| 5 |
At what age do you worm a fawn?
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In the case of a fawn being reared on its own there is probably no need to
use any worming program. If at any stage the droppings become loose
you should take a sample to a veterinarian for examination. This may
lead to a treatment being prescribed.
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| 6 |
We have a bad problem with Queensland cattle tick, and have a large number
of hard antler stags that can't be |
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put through a shed, nor can I use
backline cydectin. I have found reference to successful use of 10ml ivermectin per 0.45kg
corn for a feed of .45 kg per animal which has removed ticks on WTD in the US.
There is Ivermectin oral for sheep and Cydectin oral drench.
Are there any problems in using/trialling these on deer given that death is the
alternative for some of those badly affected? The reference to the WTD trial
does not give active ingredient strength, but I assume they just used Ivermectin
oral. I also assume I would have to modify the dose according to body weight. |
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I have no personal experience of using these drugs off label in this way in
deer, but for what it's worth we have been using injectable cattle
ivermectin orally in dogs in indigenous communities, to treat sarcoptic mange. It works
very well at the cattle dose rate without any signs of toxicility - for what
this is worth in your situation. Extrapolation across species can be fraught
with danger, and I take no responsibility for making these comments if something
goes wrong. One more thought - treat a small number and see what happens. As
you say, you have little to lose.
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| 7 |
Are red deer susceptible to Buffalo Fly? |
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The true "Buffalo Fly" (Haematobia irritans exigua) has limited distribution in
Northern Australia. They are parasites of water buffalo and cattle and are
unable to survive away from these animals. Deer have not been reported to have
been affected by them.
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International
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1a
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I live in the US in Arkansas. It is tick season here. My 11 week old doe is covered in seed ticks. Too many to pull off, and she would just be re-infested again. We live on 6 acres that is heavely wooded. Anything I can put on the deer to help her out some? We use Frontline on our dog and cat and that works well. Could this product be put on a deer? |
1b
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A fawn (I'm guessing about 3 months of age) was brought to my husband today. He is an animal control officer and I'm a veterinary technician. He is injured, but we are hoping to get him healed and back to the wild eventually. My question is, what can I use on him to remove the deer ticks? I have searched to no avail online. Can products such as Advantix (made by Bayer for canines) be used on them safely? Thanks so much! (Texas, USA) |
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Your deer with the tick problem should respond to Frontline - but the product is not registered for deer so you use it at your own risk. It would be prudent to apply a drop to bare skin and make sure that there is no local reaction.
(17 August 2010) |
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| 2 |
What is used for worming? |
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The most commonly used worm treatments used in deer would be the pour-on
compounds "Cydectin" (Cyanamid) and "Ivomec Eprinex" (MSD-Merial). These are
effective against both bowel worms and lungworm. |
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3 |
Have you got any ideas what would cause these warts? We had one young
doe last year that had one wart. This |
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year it is gone but now 4 yearling bucks have several warts. One of the
bucks had a wart come off this last week. We have never had trouble until we
moved them to a different location last spring (2001). |
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Warts (papillomas) are caused by a virus. They are not considered to
be highly contagious, and normally fall off in a few months as the animal
mounts an immune response. They generally do not cause any harm.
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4
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I am raising 3 bucks and they are in the same area together. All are doing
fine as of now. One of the deer is about four to seven days older than
the other two. The other two are twins. Do I need to worm them? |
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There really should not be any reason to worm these deer unless a problem
arises. You could get a vet to do a faecal egg count if you are
worried.
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5
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We have seen these 1˝ inch diameter dark-brown growths on white tail deer in
our area. They look like inflated moles...what are they?
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These would most likely be papillomas (warts) caused by a virus. They
usually do not bother the affected animal too much.
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6a
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Do you know anything that can treat wild baby deer for haemonchus
contortus without darting? And how can I treat the ground that won't harm the
deer?
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You have asked a couple of tough questions. If you mean young wild
fawns still suckling their mothers there is really no way that I know of to
effectively treat them for worm parasites. The same applies to
treating the ground to kill larvae I am afraid. |
6b
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Let me clarify. I am a Scientific Breeder with the state of Texas, and
was trying to see what could be done about the condition spoke of before.
The deer are in a controlled setting. If you can help please let me know. |
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There have been situations where wild deer have been medicated with in-feed
worm treatments (eg. roe deer in Austria using fenbendazole) but generally
speaking this approach should be seen as a last resort for all sorts of
reasons. It is very difficult to control intake, especially with large groups.
Very young fawns would not get any of the medicated feed, but I guess if the
adults were treated it would reduce the number of infective larvae on the
pasture. How have you determined that you have a problem with Haemonchus? |
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7 |
Having raised whitetails for several years we are quite aware of the basics
of raising the fawn, but this little |
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fellow's face is in bad shape from
ticks. One side of his face is badly swollen and one eye nearly
swollen closed. He has several "bald" spots on his head, ears, and
face where I am assuming he has had ticks as well. Besides de-ticking
him, what should our next step be in helping this fawn? Are their antiobiotics which we can give him and should we try
applying anitiobiotic ointment to the wounds on his face and head? I'm afraid
our local vet's office will not be of much assistance in helping us where the
deer are concerned so if you can help me, I'd surely appreciate it.
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It certainly sounds like this little fellow needs your support right now,
but with any luck it will be largely soft tissue damage that will heal
fairly quickly now that you have removed the ticks, and he is no longer
being abused. By all means treat his wounds if that does not distress
him too much but I suspect that Mother Nature will do most of the work if he
gets TLC from you. If all goes well then you will have to confront the
problem of what to do with him. Tame uncastrated bucks inevitably become too
dangerous to work with.
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8
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We are raising a baby deer orphaned from it's mom and it started shaking its
head and scratching it's ears continuously, do you know what could be
causing it?
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You have not told me enough to even guess what might be worrying this
animal, but if it is otherwise well you might see ear mites if you look
closely.
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9 |
My 4wk old roe fawn has developed a sore and swollen anus. 3 days ago I
noticed a small bit of blood when I |
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cleaned him and I saw that he has small cuts in the inside of his anus.
Yesterday and today he has a dirty bum, and he doesn't let me clean him to
make him poo! His poo is softer ,he usually does lots of little balls!
I feed them fresh goats milk, 400ml 3 times a day now. They also eat
lots of grass and soil in their field. |
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I have been travelling and must have missed your earlier email. You
are lucky to be so near to wild roe deer - what a privilege! If you
can get them back in the wild without taming them you can probably not need
to castrate them. A possible cause of your fawn's problem is coccidiosis
caused by a parasite called Eimeria - this can be confirmed by taking a
faecal sample to your vet for testing and possible treatment. |
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10a |
I have a whitetail doe fawn which I raised since she was about 2 days old.
Recently, at about 2 months, I took her |
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to a friend who raises deer for her
to live, and she is adjusting. I still go up to give her a bottle twice a
day. She is tamer than any dog I know. Recently I noticed she had
diarrhoea so I had her stool checked and she has worms. I believe the type
was trichostrongylus. We
gave her a shot of ivomec. Half went in and the rest I applied in her neck. Plus
they put ivomec in the feed to treat the other deer as well, which she is
eating. I am also giving her probias. Her stool is soft. Should I have it
rechecked? She is eating her greens and feed now and then. |
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With the ration you are giving her she does not need probiotic any longer. |
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10b |
I am still concerned about her stool. It comes out gummy. It is not normal
pellets. As a result I have been giving |
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her probias again to try to keep
the good bacteria in her. She is down to 1/2 bottle twice a day. I wormed her
once and they wormed the whole herd in the feed and will be repeating it within
the week again (she did test positive for worms). Is this anything to be
concerned about? I will have her off the bottle completely by the end of the
week but it is over 50% water as it is. I have noticed that she is not the only
deer with loose stools. Should I have her stool checked again? |
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You should find that once you go on a full solid diet that normal faecal pellets
do appear. I don't think you should worry about any more worm treatment for
now. |
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11a |
I am a hunter in Georgia. We recently killed a buck and discovered
that his entire trachea was filled with some |
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kind of parasite that looks like a grub. We inspected the liver and it
looked fine, then we checked the lungs and found a few of the parasites in
there. I was wondering if this is something to worry about in our deer
population, and is the muscle of the deer safe to eat? |
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To confirm the identity of these parasites you should make arrangements to
submit specimens to your state animal health diagnostic system - any
veterinarian can assist you with this task. This class of parasite
does not generally have any adverse effect on the meat of affected deer. |
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11b |
I have had my vet check some of the dead fawns. He told me that
bloodworm was the problem. |
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Haemonchus
contortus is a very nasty parasite, with blood loss and severe anaemia being
the result of infection with this worm. I am not sure that I can add
anything to what I have already told you. Treatment of free-living
unweaned fawns is quite a challenge. All I can suggest is that you
talk to your vet about medicating feed for the adults - but I don't really
like this option much either.
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